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Tech gallery: How the Ferrari SF70H evolved throughout 2017
A selection of the best images and illustrations of Ferrari’s 2017 challenger, the SF70H, courtesy of Giorgio Piola, Sutton Images and LAT images.
Matt Somerfield
Edited:
Giorgio Piola's F1 technical analysis
Giorgio Piola is the preeminent Formula 1 technical journalist. View our full selection of Giorgio's technical illustrative content
A top-down comparison of Ferrari's 2016 and 2017 challengers.
A front-end comparison of the 2016 and 2017 cars.
A breakdown view of the SF70H’s sidepods and the bodywork that surrounds it. The removal of the forward flow conditioning bodywork exposes more internal detail including the two cooling inlets and the movement of the upper crash structure spar to a lower, more forward position (lower arrow).
A side view of the nose and front wing shows the position of the 'S' duct inlet.
An internal view of the nose shows that the pipework carrying airflow from the inlet to the ‘S’ duct crosses over inside the nosecone.
For the season opener, changes were made to the wing mirrors (red arrow) and a canard was included (black arrow).
The slot on the edge of the SF70H’s floor had a metal support mounted in the forwardmost section (circled) to improve rigidity, after concerns were raised by other teams over the floor's flexibility.
A detailed depiction of the SF70H’s chassis and front suspension layout.
A top-down view of the SF70H, with arrows pointing out the bulged floor.
Ferrari utilised an additional monkey seat in Russia. Mounted on the rear wing support pillars, the two-element winglet wrapped around the exhaust in order to leverage the plume exiting it.
Sebastian Vettel used a new clutch paddle arrangement, utilising a socket that provided an improved feel and modulation of the clutch travel.
The team added two vertical slots and revised the curvature of the frontal region of the bargeboards in Spain.
A close-up of the three L-shaped slots ahead of the rear wheel tasked with controlling ‘tyre squirt’ - a phenomenon caused by the deformation and rotation of the rear tyre, whereby airflow is squirted laterally into the diffuser's path.
Ferrari utilised a high-downforce set-up in Monaco, complete with a new forward monkey seat that exposed the frontal element to the airflow and a new flatter rearward monkey seat - both of which work the airflow harder in order that it interacts with the rear wing. The team also used its higher-downforce hooped and slotted T-wing.
A look at the sidepod's frontal region, where it meets the collection of flow devices.
Ferrari ran a different set of deflectors in Canada with a subtly-modified hole in their curved base.
The team ran with four diagonal slots and a short L-shaped slot in the floor ahead of the rear tyre in Canada.
Ferrari began its weekend with a more conventional rear wing assembly and a perforated Gurney trim above the engine cover outlet - but come qualifying and the race the team switched to a spoon-style rear wing and ditched the perforated Gurney (insets).
Asymmetric brake cooling used on the SF70H with the teardrop-shaped outlets open on the left-hand side of the car but closed on the right.
Glancing into Sebastian Vettel’s cockpit, we can see the metalised clutch paddles, shaped as sockets in order that he can place his fingers within.
The SF70H with the covers off gives insight into the installation of the power unit and ancillary components such as the radiators.
A side-by-side comparison of the new and old wing specifications shows the shorter slot (yellow highlight), the more aggressive arc leading to the outwash tunnel (blue arrow), the arched connection at the juncture between the mainplane and neutral section (red arrow) and the new endplate canard (green arrow).
The FIA forced the team to modify the floor slot, as the previously unmounted section of floor at the rear flapped around too violently. A metal support was added at the rear of the slot (arrowed) to increase rigidity.
Front left brake assembly with a fully enclosed brake drum/cake tin.
A close-up of the various flow conditioning devices placed ahead of the sidepod.
The revised front wing introduced by the team for the Austrian GP changed the mainplane's profile alongside the central neutral section in order to affect the Y250 vortex differently. In the outboard section, the long slot (left inset) was rescinded, making way for a shorter slot over the top of the revised arc that forms the outwash tunnel. Hung from the endplate another, more complex, canard was added too (arrowed and see also right inset)
The newer-specification front wing.
A close-up of the rear brake duct fins.
Changes were made to the bargeboards and floor extensions in Hungary, with slots added to the leading edge of both.
The team also modified the floor extensions, with the single hole previously found in the centre of the floor replaced with two slots on the leading edge.
In the post-race test, Ferrari trialled a new diffuser with a flatter central section, seen here in flo-viz paint.
A comparison of the front wing specifications used in Hungary and Belgium shows the triangular vane atop the endplate has been removed.
Ferrari followed Mercedes' example by adding a longitudinal flap on the edge of the L-shaped floor, just ahead of the rear tyre (highlighted in yellow). Note the curvature of the floor below (dotted line), which mirrors the shape of the flap.
A comparison of the two rear wings used at Belgium and Italy. Among the changes are the spoon shaping being discarded for a more conventional short chord, a lower angle of attack, only one centreline slot gap separator and V groove (black arrow) and a change back to a more conventional set of endplate louvres (highlighted in yellow)
A close-up of the suspension's third element or ‘heave’ damper.
Flo-viz paint on Kimi Raikkonen's rear wing.
A comparison of the finger slot-style clutch paddle arrangements used by Vettel since Spain.
As a comparison, the wishbone design favoured by Raikkonen and utilised by Vettel up to Spain and from Malaysia onwards.
A top-down view of the bargeboard and deflector region, showing the two slots present in the deflector and floor.
An illustration of the SF70H’s upright and brake assembly, with attention paid to the number of drill positions on the brake disc. The maximum configuration used in Singapore featured six drill holes across the face, drilled in a chevron formation in order that they didn’t fatigue the disc when heat was dissipated. Contrary to that, less heat being generated for Monza requires less drill holes (four across the face).
Ferrari mechanics fit cooling pipework over the top of the Brembo calipers.
Ferrari trialled a new front brake duct assembly with an in-built crossover pipe that helps to move airflow between the surface of the drum and the wheel rim.
A top-down view of the SF70H's front wing.
Ferrari’s teardrop-shaped outlets in the front brake drum allow heat created under braking to be dissipated out of the wheel face as it mixes with the through flow between the drum and the wheel rim.
The rear brake assembly sans brake drum/cake tin shows off the internal detail, including the pipework associated with cooling the caliper.
A close-up of the ‘S’ ducts outlet on the bridge of the nose.
A view of the front wing from behind exposes details not often seen, such as the strakes that run underneath.
A close-up of the double monkey seat that wraps around the exhaust exit.
Ferrari introduced a new airbox configuration in Malaysia, which featured two smaller inlets either side of the main airbox in order to feed an oil cooler mounted above the turbocharger.
The internal pipework/ducting that feeds air from the new inlets either side of the main airbox down to the oil cooler.
The new bargeboards introduced in Malaysia featured a revised leading edge (blue arrow), owing to the inclusion of a boomerang-shaped pre-bargeboard (green arrow), while the already slotted footplate was changed for a row of mini-winglets (red arrow).
Kimi Raikkonen's SF70H is stripped down on the grid as the team tries to resolve an issue with the power unit. Note how the power unit has been enclosed in order to improve airflow through the car. The louvred panel above the radiator is also notable as it improves its efficiency.
A close-up of the two part turning vanes used by Ferrari, one section attached to the nose and the other under the chassis.
The diffuser on the SF70H in detail.
The mini-winglets that extend outwards and form the footplate of the SF70H's bargeboard.
The steering wheel turned upside down on the chassis shows the elongated wishbone-style clutch paddle.
A top-down view of the SF70H’s rear end, including the spoon rear wing, single element T-wing and coke bottle-shaped bodywork.
With the floor detached from the car, we can see the swan-neck style supports that fix the Gurney trims to the floor/diffuser.
Various radiators and oil coolers are visible on the car without the bodywork wrapped around it.
The SF70H’s floor featured four diagonal slots and a larger L-shaped slot ahead of the rear wheel at Austin.
Ferrari utilised a new diffuser for Austin, featuring a flatter central section and two additional crash structure winglets.
Flo-viz painted on Ferrari's new diffuser.
The changes made to Ferrari’s front wing in the USA, complete with optimisation of the footplate (red arrow) and the introduction of a small twisted flap on the trailing edge of the endplate, to drive flow outboard.
For comparison, here is the older-specification front wing.
The rear brake duct assembly. Note the horizontal strakes used to control the airflow between it and the surface of the wheel rim.
Mechanics lift the all-in-one engine cover onto the SF70H as they prepare it for action.
The SF70H’s floor featured five diagonal floor slots and a larger L-shaped one at the rear in Mexico.
A close-up of the interior detail of the endplate, which features two canards of varying complexity and the smaller endplate vane hung off the trailing edge of the main endplate.
The front wing endplate canards from close proximity.
A look at the underside of the SF70H’s front wing. Note the square titanium skid plates added under the wing to protect it in the event of it hitting the track's surface.
A close-up of the sidepod deflector that Ferrari ran all season, although it was painted differently from Canada onwards.
An extreme close-up of the small supports used to move the aerodynamically-neutral camera pods away from the nose.
A close-up view of the various winglets and monkey seats used at the rear of the car.
The floor ahead of the rear tyre features four diagonal slots and a larger L-shaped slot at the rearmost point.
Ferrari tested a new diffuser at the last race of the season, evaluating options for its 2018 challenger. The diffuser is remarkably similar to a design used by Red Bull in the latter part of the season and utilises a pair of Gurney trims that wrap around the diffuser periphery.
Ferrari ran with several kiel probe arrays mounted to the rear of the car to better understand the aerodynamic impact of the rear wheel wake on the diffuser.
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